EverMore
by CosmoFan47
Summary: After the events of "A World Without Princes," Tedros and Agatha have been trying to find a way to defeat the resurrected School Master. When word leaks to them about the School Master's plans to marry Sophie, Agatha forms a plan to bring a happy ending for both Evers and Nevers- EverMore.
1. Chapter 1: The Tale of Sophie and Agatha

Hello ! Welcome to my version of the final School for Good and Evil book, "EverMore." We start our story in Gavaldon, where the people of Woods Beyond are about to discover the truth of Sophie and Agatha's trip to the legendary Fairy Tale school…

Chapter 1: The Tale of Sophie and Agatha

Agatha opened her eyes to find herself in a graveyard. Looking around, she noticed her house, 1 Graves Hill Road.

"Home," Agatha whispered. She turned towards the person holding her hand…

…It wasn't Sophie. It was Tedros. Tedros of Camelot.

Agatha's head reeled as her memories came back. Sophie had chosen the School Master. Agatha had failed her promise to Stefan.

Tedros opened his big blue eyes. "Agatha," he whispered. "Where are we?"

Agatha blushed. "We're in Gavaldon. This is my home."

Tedros looked around. "You live in a graveyard? And why are you dressed as a Never?"

Agatha looked down. She was once again wearing the black dress worn before the whole School for Good and Evil incident. "This is what I usually wear here," Agatha admitted. "Remember, everyone thought I was a villain."

Tedros looked down at himself. "Why am I in a Everboy uniform?" Indeed, Tedros was back in his School for Good blue suit.

Agatha thought about it. "When Sophie and I first returned to Gavaldon, we reappeared wearing the same clothes we wore the night we were kidnapped. But you, Tedros, are from Camelot. Maybe because you're from the Woods, the spell that brought us here didn't know what clothes you wore before coming to the School. Therefore, you were given the outfit you wore when I first met you."

Tedros grinned. "Makes just as much sense as anything in our world." He looked around. "So, this is where you live. I cannot wait to meet my future in-laws."

Agatha started blushing. "Tedros, there's something I should tell you…" she began.

"Agatha!" a familiar voice interrupted. Agatha turned to see Callis running towards her daughter. Before Agatha could react, Callis swept her into a big hug.

"Mother?" Agatha exclaimed, her face pressed onto her mother's chest.

"Agatha, where is Sophie?" another voice asked. Agatha wrenched herself from Callis' grip to see Stefan standing right behind her mother.

"Um…" Agatha couldn't think of how to begin.

Stefan and Callis looked past Agatha to see Tedros standing there. "Agatha," Callis asked. "Who is this?"

Agatha cleared her throat. "Mother, Stefan," she motioned towards Tedros. "May I present Prince Tedros of Camelot, son of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere."

Tedros walked up to Callis and Stefan, who were staring with wide eyes at the prince. He bowed to Callis. "It is an honor to meet the mother of my beloved princess."

Callis looked confused. "But I am Agatha's mother, not your true love Sophie's."

Now it was Tedros who looked confused. "I am fully aware of that, ma'am. Princess Agatha is my true love. Why would I think you were the mother of that Witch Sophie?"

Now Callis was completely befuddled. "But Agatha was a shoo-in for the School for Evil. She's no princess, she's a witch. Right, sweetie?" she asked Agatha.

Tedros turned back towards Agatha. "What is your mother talking about, Agatha?"

Agatha gulped. "I tried to tell you this before, Tedros. When Sophie and I returned from the School for Good and Evil, Sophie told the townspeople just what they assumed- that she was the Princess and I was the Witch. Sophie said that no one would believe what had really happened. I went along with it because we had no way to show them our story."

Tedros stared at his princess in shock. "You lied to an entire village just because your Witch friend wanted to take the easy way?"

"Sophie had just tried to kill me! I wanted to stay on her good terms," Agatha cried. "Besides, we didn't get a copy of our Fairy Tale. We had no proof!"

Tedros knelt and picked something up off the ground. "Well, we do now," he grinned.

Agatha gaped when she saw the book her prince was holding. "The School Master's copy!" she cried.

"At the last second before we came here, my hand brushed the storybook," Tedros shrugged. "It followed us here. I guess we need "The Tale of Sophie and Agatha" more than the School Master does."

"Oh Teddy, you're wonderful!" Agatha announced. She grabbed Tedros' and her mother's hands, pulling them to the house. "Come on, let's read our Fairy Tale!"

...

"So it's true," Stefan said wide-eyed after reading the tale. "Callis, you've borne a Princess."

"And I so wanted her to be a Witch," Callis wailed.

"If it's any consolation, Mother, everyone thought I was a Witch when I first arrived at the School for Good," Agatha confessed.

Callis sniffed. "It helps a little. Thank you, Agatha."

"Why did you want so badly for your daughter to go to the School for Evil, anyway?" Tedros asked.

"My mother thought she was going to get into Evil when she was my age," Agatha explained. "She wanted me to have the experience she never had."

Nothing was said for a minute.

"Well, now we can show the Elders this book so that they know the truth," Callis suggested.

Stefan put a hand on Callis' shoulder. "I think first you should tell your daughter the truth," he said.

"The truth about what?" Agatha asked.

Callis took a shaky breath. "Sweetheart, you remember what I told you about your father?"

"You used to call him a rotten two-timer who died in a mill accident. And just before the Elders took Sophie, you changed your tune and said that he stood up for you and paid the price," Agatha remembered.

"Well Agatha, your father is still alive," Callis surprised her daughter. "He always had an attraction to more… homely women. As punishment, the Elders made your father marry the most beautiful woman in town."

"What are you talking about?" Agatha demanded. "Who would ever…" she trailed off as it came to her.

A mill worker. Married to the most beautiful woman in the village. A hand placed so gently on her mother's shoulder…

"I am your father, Agatha," confirmed Stefan.


	2. Chapter 2: Agatha's Father

What the…? Stefan is Agatha's father? I bet you didn't expect me to drop the bomb on you so soon, faithful readers. And there will be more to come!

Chapter 2: Agatha's Father

"You? You're my father?" Agatha cried. She couldn't believe it. But then again, after Professor Sader, Stefan was Agatha's father figure. Despite the way that Sophie would always complain about him only wanting boys around the house, Stefan was always tolerant of Agatha. With the entire town afraid of her for years, Agatha had felt that tolerance was as close as she would ever get to acceptance in Gavaldon.

After Sophie and she first came back from the School for Good and Evil, Agatha started to go into town more, usually over to Sophie's house, and was exposed to Stefan more. He would sneak Agatha freshly baked butter cookies from Bartleby's, the bakery where Honora worked. Stefan began inviting Agatha over for supper. He even had conversations with her while waiting for Sophie to get ready in the mornings, which took about two and a half hours every day.

Sophie's cottage had become a second home to Agatha, not just because of Sophie, but also because of Stefan.

Agatha had originally assumed that Stefan was being nice to her because she broke the curse. Agatha went along with it because she was trying to be even closer to Sophie. But soon, Agatha realized that Stefan actually liked Agatha.

That was the reason why Agatha promised to bring Sophie back from the assassins. She would have attempted to bring Sophie back anyway, but she told Stefan that she would because she didn't want him to worry.

And yet, Agatha couldn't bring her friend, her half sister- Sophie was her half sister!- back from the Endless Woods.

"Why are you telling me this now?" Agatha asked Stefan. "Is it because I couldn't keep my promise to you, and bring Sophie back?" Agatha paused. "Oh, god, Sophie is my best friend and my half sister. How could you never have told me? I would have tried to save her twice as hard if I had known!"

Callis sighed. "I asked Stefan not to tell you, Agatha. The Elders didn't want Stefan to know that we had borne a child, because we weren't married. But I had to tell him. I asked Stefan to sneak out and meet me the night you came into this world. Vanessa, Sophie's mother, was six months pregnant when you were born, so it was easy for him to leave."

"Wait, so Stefan, my father, didn't sneak off to see Honora while Vanessa was pregnant with Sophie. Instead, he went to see you?" Agatha asked her mother.

"Yes," Callis whispered.

Stefan nodded. "Honora knew about my love for Callis and agreed to help me. Yes, I went into Honora's house. But I immediately went out the back door and headed to this very house."

"I asked Stefan to never tell a soul about you," Callis continued. "We were afraid that if the Elders found out, they would punish Stefan again. Stefan agreed reluctantly, but not after naming you Agatha."

"I always thought you named me, Mother," said Agatha.

Callis shook her head. "It was all your father's idea. He truly loved you. In fact, Stefan loved you so much that he snuck out every night until Vanessa gave birth, just to see you."

"When Vanessa had Sophie, that was when everything went downhill," Stefan took over the story. "Back then the Elders would send a midwife to tend to the mothers after birth. The midwife had concocted a potion to make mothers stronger after childbirth. But when Vanessa took the potion, she became weaker. Vanessa was slowly dying."

"The Elders burned the midwife at the stake," Callis shuddered. "They claimed that the midwife had poisoned Vanessa, and banned the work of midwifes in Gavaldon. But I just knew that the Elders poisoned Vanessa to get back at Stefan for continuing to see me. Agatha, somehow they knew that Stefan was your father."

"I never really loved Vanessa," Stefan admitted. "The Elders must have figured that with Vanessa so violently ill, I would be so busy with Sophie that I wouldn't be able to see my daughter with Callis." He shrugged. "I guess it worked. At least, it worked until my two daughters became best friends."

There was silence between the four. Something still didn't add up, but Agatha couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"But just why did this Honora help you, Stefan?" Tedros finally spoke up. "And why did you want to marry Honora and not Callis?"

That was it. That was the question Agatha wanted to ask. She just couldn't think of it with all of this new information barreling at her.

"I met Honora through Vanessa. Honora was Vanessa's maid of honor at our wedding," Stefan explained. "Honora was Vanessa's best friend before Agatha was born. But because Vanessa thought that I was sneaking off to see Honora when I was going to Callis', Vanessa stopped speaking to Honora. Honora was madly in love with me, so she just went along with it to please me. I just didn't want Callis to get into any more trouble."

"After Vanessa passed, the Elders went to see me while Agatha was at school," Callis continued. "They promised to let all of this slide as long as I never married and never saw Stefan again. The first part was simple enough, but the second was almost impossible for me to go through. After all, Stefan was the one who prevented the Elders from burning me at the stake. He's my prince."

"I understand," Agatha blushed.

"I eventually agreed, but on one condition," said Callis. "The Elders would allow her to become a doctor. I was considered a doctor before by the townspeople, but I didn't have the Elders' permission to be one. I couldn't make house calls unless I had the Elders' permission, and in Gavaldon, you're not a real doctor until you can make house calls."

"Because I was no longer allowed to see Callis, I turned towards Honora," Stefan picked up the story. "I had liked Honora much more than Vanessa. At first, I did not love Honora, but that soon changed. Of course, Callis will always be my first love, but I need a fresh start. You understand, don't you Callis?"

"Yes I do," Callis blushed. Agatha had never seen her mother blush before. Callis must really be in love with Stefan.

"But then, why are you here now?" Tedros demanded to know. "These Elders don't seem like the types to take defiance well. Why would you risk everything to see Callis?"

"For true love," Agatha answered for her father. "Don't you see Tedros? I'm living proof that my mother has someone who loves her. With Sophie left for death by the Elders and with me going after them, my mother and my father needed one another. It's for love, Tedros, and not for true love. It's for first love!"

Agatha turned towards the window facing the Endless Woods. "And that's how I know what I have to do."

"What are you talking about?" Tedros asked.

Agatha could just see her first love's face now, smiling in a way that masked the witch inside. "I have to go back. I have to save Sophie."


	3. Chapter 3: Sophie's Choice

Oh boy. It looks like Agatha is choosing Sophie over Tedros again! Or is she? We'll have to wait and see. For now, we will go to Sophie and the School Master and see what they are up to…

Chapter 3: Sophie's Choice

As Agatha and Tedros vanished, Sophie felt a pang of remorse. The boy she had once loved, along with her best friend in the world, had left her. Sophie began to wonder if she had made the right choice after all.

Maybe I should have grabbed Agatha's hand, Sophie thought. Maybe I should have gone with her and Tedros…

The School Master placed his cold hand back upon Sophie's cheek, and Sophie's feelings of regret reverted back into a witch's rage. If I went with Agatha and Tedros, I would have still been alone! Sophie's mind fumed. Agatha and Tedros would have gotten married, and I would be left without true love. At least with those two gone, I can focus on my true love. Maybe now I can finally be happy.

"Come, Sophie," the School Master whispered. He placed his arms around Sophie's waist, and the two of them lifted off the ground, flying towards the School Master's tower.

Sophie sighed with pleasure. This was nothing like riding the skeletal stymphs. No, this type of flying was smoother, gentler. It felt like love, true love, the kind of love Sophie had been searching for her entire life.

Then Sophie looked down. She sucked in her breath as she watched the girls and boys at war on the bridge. They were swinging swords and flinging arrows, in a frenzied attempt to hurt- to actually hurt- one another.

Once Sophie and the School Master reached the top of the sliver tower, they flew in through the window. As soon as her feet touched the floor, Sophie rushed over to look out the window. She saw the girls and boys had been joined on either side by the female and male professors.

Sophie turned towards the School Master, who was placing the Storian on top of a table. "What do we do now?" she asked him.

The School Master turned, with a smile on his face. "This," he announced, and he leaned in to kiss Sophie.

Sophie closed her eyes. She could feel a pulse of power flowing through their bodies as the School Master placed his lips on Sophie's.

And as the School Master's kiss continued, Sophie could now feel that same power flowing out of their bodies and out of the tower, blanketing the entire School.

All too soon, the kiss ended. The School Master pulled back. Sophie opened her green eyes, gazing into the School Master's blue ones.

The School Master turned back towards the window. "Take a good look, my dear Sophie," he whispered. "Look at what the power of Never After can accomplish."

Sophie looked out the window to see the students and teachers cease their war. Their weapons fell out of their hands as both Good and Evil, Girls and Boys turned towards the tower.

As the students and professors alike raised their heads to look at Sophie and the School Master, their eyes turned as black as the School towering above them.

And there they stood, unmoving.

"Um, what are they doing?" Sophie asked.

"The students and professors of the School, once divided in order to battle one another in the everlasting war between Good and Evil, now have a common goal," the School Master bellowed. "They are under our command, dear Sophie, and they will fight for us until the entire world is a land of beautiful Evil! And all because of our kiss. Just imagine what we can do once we marry!"

"Wow," Sophie whispered. "But you are not just marrying me to take over the world, are you?" she asked, panicked.

The School Master reached over and traced Sophie's face with his long, cold finger. "I am marrying you because we are meant to be together," he reassured her. "The fact that we will have enough power to take over is just an added bonus. Besides, didn't you always want to be a Queen?"

Sophie's heart beat faster at the sound of the word "Queen." "Yes," she breathed.

The School Master pulled Sophie closer. "As long as you stand by me, we have the opportunity to become King and Queen of the world. You would never accomplish this when going to the School for Evil, not without my help. You will finally get everything you've ever wanted."

Sophie's head overflowed with the possibilities. Eternal youth, her mother alive again, her father in chains, and true love- the kind you find between a Prince and Princess. She would have it all!

Sophie gazed up at the School Master. "I will stand by you," she promised.

The School Master smiled. "I never doubted it," he replied. Then he turned towards the window. "I need to check on something. You are free to use the rest of the tower. I only ask that we eat our meals together. So please, do not start without me."

Sophie looked around. "Um, I don't see a door. Or stairs. Or any sign that there are other rooms in this tower."

The School Master looked around. "I must have forgotten to remove the glamour," he mumbled. The School Master waved his hand, and a trapdoor appeared in the center of the floor.

"My apologies, Sophie," said the School Master. "I usually keep the trapdoor disguised whenever I have anyone over. The ghost of my brother killed me before I could lift the spell. But now you should be able to explore the tower."

As the School Master leaned out of the window, he turned back one last time. "Oh, and the only way out of the tower is to fly out of the window. I'm sure you can manage the spell if necessary. But I would greatly appreciate it if you waited for me here tonight."

The School Master gazed into Sophie's eyes, and for just a second, Sophie saw a challenge in his eyes. With the knowledge of how to escape the tower, would Sophie stay, or choose to leave and never return?

"I will wait for you," Sophie chose.

The School Master smiled, then turned and jumped out the window. Sophie opened the trapdoor, and vanished down the stairs.

The two beings of pure Evil had left the room. The Storian, now alone, lifted off the table it had been placed on and began to glow.

The letters on the Storian, glowing especially bright, started rearranging themselves until they spelled a word. A word that Sophie had felt, deep within her heart the day she met the School Master.

The one word that would save the world.


	4. Chapter 4: Into the Woods

Wow. Even though I came up with the School Master's lines in this chapter, whenever he talks, he still creeps me out!

Chapter 4: Into the Woods

"Agatha, where are you going?" asked Tedros. His princess had stood up without a word and ran out of the graveyard home that was once her paradise.

Agatha ignored Tedros, her feet clumping as loudly as the day she ran into him in the Groom Room. Within moments Agatha had circled the house and reached the edge of the Woods.

"You better go after her," Callis said gently. "Based on what you have told us about the School Master, Agatha will need all the help she can get rescuing Sophie."

Tedros stayed where he was. Normally he would have gone after his princess- they had experienced so little time together since they fell in love- but Tedros' old doubts began setting in. Was Agatha choosing Sophie over him again? Tedros remembered how, in the Blue Forest, Agatha truly wanted to change her Ever After and be with him. But that was before she learned that the Witch of Woods Beyond was her half-sister. Would Tedros lose Agatha to Sophie again?

Then Tedros remembered how he had sent the Boys into the Endless Woods to kill Sophie, how he had attacked Agatha at the Nevers' "No Ball." Tedros didn't want to be that kind of prince anymore- the kind that kills in order to love. Agatha knew better than that. Agatha was better than that.

But Tedros still didn't want to face Sophie, not with the chance that Agatha would choose the Witch over her Prince.

Of course, Tedros couldn't say any of that to Agatha's parents. "What about the Elders?" he asked instead. "If they catch me, who knows what they will do. They were ready to sacrifice Sophie to strangers just to save their village not too long ago. How will they react to someone from the Woods?"

"I think you would be safe, Tedros," Callis surprised him. "The Elders have been missing for a week now. What are the odds that they will return today?"

"It did take people from Gavaldon at least a month to get through the Woods," Stefan agreed. "And even then, they would end up back in Gavaldon. So you, Tedros, will be safe from the Elders at the moment. But son, if you truly love Agatha, then you should fight for her and not worry about what anyone else thinks. I did that for far too long." Stefan placed his hand on Callis' shoulder.

Callis blushes just like her daughter, Tedros noted. "I will go with Agatha," he promised. And with that, Tedros left the graveyard house.

Callis watched as the Prince of Camelot ran out of her house, the turned back to Stefan. "When all of this is over, how about we get married, no matter what those Elders think?" she asked him.

Stefan leaned in for a kiss. "My dear," he grinned. "I think that's the best idea I've heard all day."

…

"Agatha, wait!" Tedros cried.

This time Agatha didn't ignore her prince. She stopped and turned around, a look of grief upon her face.

"I'm sorry, Tedros, but I have to go back," Agatha insisted. "I cannot abandon Sophie, now that I know that she is my half sister. If I had only known that, I would have tried harder to keep Sophie from kissing the School Master. If I had known that Sophie and I were half sisters, I would have tried to protect her! Are sisters not supposed to do so? Are they not supposed to protect each other?"

"Sisters, maybe, but not half sisters!"

Agatha glared at her prince. "Tedros! I cannot believe you are jealous."

Tedros glared right back at his princess. At that look, Agatha shrunk away.

"Jealous? You think I am jealous?" Tedros cried.

"Teddy, I did not mean it that way…" Agatha began.

"Because you are right," Tedros sighed. He sat cross-legged on the dying grass of Agatha's backyard.

"I am?" Agatha squeaked.

"Yes, Agatha," Tedros confirmed. "I'm jealous of what you and Sophie had together. The two of you went through so much together, and now it turns out that you are half sisters! The two of you were happier than we could ever be, and I just had to ruin it all. Agatha, you deserve whatever will make you happy, and Sophie makes you happy. I will not stand in your way again if you choose her over me."

Agatha's face went red, not unlike when she was blushing. Her lips quivered, and soon a loud laugh slipped out.

Tedros looked up in surprise.

"Tedros, you still do not understand, do you?" Agatha giggled. "I'm not choosing Sophie over you." Agatha stopped laughing, her face turning serious. "I want to rescue her because it is the Good thing to do. Besides, I do not believe that the School Master is Sophie's true love. There is something not right about him, about his plan. You saw him. He killed Evelyn Sader for no good reason. We have to find out what the School Master is planning."

Tedros nodded slowly. "I see your point." He then knelt on one knee, held out his hand, and said "Agatha of Woods Beyond, will you be my traveling companion through the Endless Woods?"

Agatha sighed. "Even if I wanted to, and I really want you to come with me, we won't be able to get through. The only way people from Gavaldon can go through the Woods and not end up where they started is if a School Master allows them to. And I highly doubt that the current School Master will want us going into the Woods. I was not thinking about that when I ran over here."

Tedros' eyes flashed, and he took Agatha's hands. "But I am from the Woods. I am supposed to be in the Woods. If I can get through, then you should be able to come with me if we stay together." He leaned closer. "Please, Agatha, neither of us can do this alone."

Tedros' breath smelled of peppermint. His lips looked smooth and kissable. Agatha's heart fluttered like the princess she was. "Alright," she said. "Let's try together."

As they made their way to the threshold of the Woods, Agatha turned towards her prince. "Tedros," she asked. "Where did you learn to glare in such and Evil fashion?" Tedros gave Agatha a blink look. "You know," she continued. "When I accused you of being jealous of Sophie."

Tedros grinned. "Why, I learned it from you, my princess."

Agatha giggled, blushing.

Tedros took Agatha's hand. "Let us journey into the Woods, Agatha. Do not worry, Princess. We will save Sophie from the School Master. We are Good. We will always win. Now come. Hold on to my hand, and do not let go. It may be the only way we can both get through the Woods."

Hand in hand, prince and princess walked through the threshold of trees- and vanished into the Woods.


	5. Chapter 5: Life in the Tower

Awwww. Tedros and Agatha make the most wonderful couple, don't you agree? Too bad they've spent so little time together so far. But we'll have to wait a bit longer to see what happens to them in the Woods. Warning: this next chapter will mostly be a description of the rest of the School Master's tower. But don't get too bored. The chapter after this will have some interaction with Sophie and the School Master!

Chapter 5: Life in the Tower

As soon as Sophie closed the trapdoor above her, the entire inside of the tower glowed with light. There was no sign of where the light was coming from, but the rooms of the tower glowed as if there was a Sun indoors for the School Master- and now, for Sophie.

Sophie began walking down the staircase. Soon she came to a landing with a door. Opening the said door, Sophie found herself in a library, not unlike the one on the top floor of the tower.

Scanning the bookshelves absentmindedly, Sophie noticed that the books were not of fairy tales. Instead, they had titles like Expert Black Magic for the Masters: Vol. 2 and History of Witches: Why Revenge Spells Fail. These books were more like the textbooks at the School for Evil, only much more advanced.

But these were only on one half of the bookshelves. On the other side of the library, the textbooks had titles similar to those she had seen when she snuck through an Ever's books during her first year. When she spotted Expert White Magic for the Masters: Vol. 2 and History of Princesses: Why Animal Languages Succeed, Sophie knew what this library was. It was a half Good and half Evil library, with opposite topics on either side.

Sophie was about to head back down the staircase when she noticed two doors on either side of the library. Big and made of oak, the two doors were identical except for one thing- the door on the Good side had a sign on it.

The sign was yellow with pink flowers and black calligraphy. The words on the sign read "Sophie's Lair."

Curiosity growing, Sophie opened the door. To her delight, on the other side of the door was a bedroom- a bedroom like Sophie's room in Gavaldon, only better.

The walls were painted primrose pink, Sophie's favorite color. The bed was a canopy bed, something Stefan would never let Sophie have, and something she could not figure out how to make herself (without getting blisters). The canopy curtains were white and lacy, and the bed sheets were a slightly darker pink than the walls.

In one corner was a wardrobe. When Sophie opened the wardrobe door, there hung five dresses, each one a different style and different fabrics, but all of them black.

Sophie frowned. I can't own only five dresses, she thought. Doesn't the School Master know that a Queen must have at least two-dozen choices in her gowns?

Pushing the five dresses, Sophie felt a softer fabric behind them. It felt like velvet. But none of the five dresses were made out of velvet.

Gasping, Sophie felt her finger glow hot pink in excitement. She imagined an off-the-shoulder gown made of stain, and three dozen dresses lined up in front of her. Sophie then imagined only dresses that reached to the floor. Six dresses floated in her line of vision.

There was an infinite amount of dresses in the wardrobe- all it took was Sophie's imagination and taste in fashion to find the right one.

As Sophie paid more and more attention to what the School Master had given her, Sophie failed to notice a pillow on her bed- the one that read "Ever After" with a princess resembling Sophie hugging a dark-haired girl- was starting to unravel. A thread was gradually coming off of the embroidery of the dark-haired girl, as if it was being pulled apart by an invisible hand.

…

Sophie sighed.

She pulled the gown of her choice over her head, having just dried off from her bath. Sophie had discovered a bathroom adjoined with her bedroom, and had immediately jumped into the tub.

Sophie opened the cabinets above the sink and, finding all of her makeup there, started working on her face.

Once she had her face on, Sophie felt brave enough to explore the rest of the tower. She went back into the other library, ready to open the door across from her bedroom.

Once she opened that door, it was obvious that it was the School Master's bedroom. The walls were royal blue. A king-sized bed with sapphire-blue sheets was against one wall, and an oak desk was in one corner. A gold and red velvet plush chair was standing in front of the desk, positioned as if it had been suddenly pushed away by the sitter.

Spotting an adjoining door, Sophie realized that the School Master must have his own bathroom too.

Blushing violently, Sophie rushed out of the School Master's bedroom, embarrassed for even thinking about going inside a man's bathroom.

Back once again in the other library, Sophie noticed another staircase leading below to another floor. Climbing down it, Sophie soon found herself standing in a wonderful ballroom.

The floor was mostly bare, leaving a lot of room for dancing. Two thrones stood at the end of the room. The throne on the right was black, and perfectly intact. The one on the left was white, and crumbling, as if someone had attacked it with a sledgehammer.

Above each throne was a portrait. Sophie's heart fluttered as she recognized the Evil School Master's face above the black throne. Above the crumbling white one, the portrait was slashed with a knife so violently that one could not decipher the face. Sophie guessed it was the Good School Master's face.

There was one other door to Sophie's right. When opening it, Sophie spotted a kitchen with an open doorway leading to a dining room. There wasn't anything interesting about the kitchen, except that it had the same enchanted pots like at the Schools.

The dining room, on the other hand, was something to note. A chandelier of gold and crystal hung above an ebony dining table. Fancy, light-blue china and sterling silver cutlery were set at two places- one set at the head of the table, and one directly to the left of the head.

Just as Sophie had taken in the magnificence of the dining room, she heard a "whoosh" come from the top of the tower.

Her true love was home, and just in time for dinner.


End file.
